Children in the Philippines: No Time for Play Essay

Children in the Philippines: â€Å"No Time for Play’ What brand of sugar are you using right now? Where was it made? Do you know what went into the making of your sugar? It could be the blood of a child, the sweat of a child, the tears ofa child. Now, as I read about child labor, I look down at the pack of sugar I am using. I twist it around in an attempt to get a look at the tag, I can read the plain white tape into the tag: â€Å"Manufactured in Negros Occidental†. As I slowly put the sugar on the table, I think about what it means. Negros Occidental is the major producer of sugarcane and a major home to child labor. According to DOLE, an estimated 3 – 5 million working children are there in the Philippines. As likely as not, the pack of sugar I’m using is the product of some unfortunate child forced by circumstances to work away his or her childhood in a sweatshop. It feels sad that what we use as our daily commodity is the work of the poor Filipino children. â€Å"The child is the father of man. † This famous line quoted by William Wordsworth refers to the importance of the child for the development of society as well as for the all-round development of the human race. Childhood is the time to garner the best hysical, intellectual and emotional capacity to fulfill this duty towards the nation and to one’s own self. However, this simple rule of nature has been crippled by the ever- growing menace of child labor. If one conceives the idea of child labor, it brings before the eyes the picture of exploitation of little, physically tender, illiterate and under-nourished children working in hazardous and unhealthy conditions. As what we saw last Tuesday, September 7, 2010 in our film showing about Social Class at the Educational Media Center of CPL], it is very depressing that many Filipino children are under child labor. In Sudtonggan, Cebu children are carrying piles of marble stone on their head. In Diwalwal, Davao del Norte, children are laborers through the night. Children at about 12 years old are mining in deep tunnels. Mining is a very dangerous Job because going inside the tunnel is a 50/50 chance that you can get out alive. A lot has already been died inside the tunnel due to dynamite smoke, falling rocks, and avalanche. Many children also died because of mercury poisoning from the fish that they eat because in making gold the ore that the miners collect are mixed with water and mercury and the mercury deposits are disposed nto their lands leading to the sickness of their people and themselves. We also saw in the film, a girl named Angeli Cabrera, a 10 year old girl who lives at Manapla, Negros Occidental. Angeli used to work in a hacienda (a sugarcane factory) in their place and earn not as much as 50 pesos a day. Due to her work she is always absent lost one of her finger, her classmates used to tease her, she said to her classmates she got wounds not because of playing but because of hard work. There are also cases especially in Ormoc, Leyte where children are told or brainwashed by a recruiter that there is a good Job in their place. The recruiter will bring them into the ship to Manila and force them to work in a sweatshop instead of working in a good job as a saleslady. The worst part of it is that they are imprisoned. The children are not allowed to send letters to their parents. The imprisoned children struggled in the sweatshop. Hopefully the Kamanglayan Development Center retrieve the children in that sweatshop and imprisoned the recruiter behind it. Now the Kamanglayan Development Center are monitoring children that travel to Manila by the boat and the most successful organization for working children. Can you imagine that millions of children are working nowadays? It’s a mere fact and a big frustration to us all. More and more children are forced to child labor because of poverty. They had suffered hunger and thirst, pain in the body and pain in the heart. They had sacrificed their life – instead of playing they are working, instead of studying they are sweating. Working children are deprived of playing. Children are supposed to play and not to work in sweatshops because being a child doesn’t last forever. They should enjoy their childhood and be happy with his or her amily; yet it is a big wake up call to us all that not all people live within their means. Filipino families suffer the economic crisis of our country. Many parents work hard and still cannot fully support their family and that is why children are forced to work because they pity their parents and they work in order to help them. The love that the Filipino children give to their parents is very noble yet the way they help their parents is too much, child labor is not the best way to help their parents. Children are suffering and shouting â€Å"No time for play’. Yes, poverty has greatly ruled the land yet when will this suffering end?

Source of Congressional Power

In the United States’ system of government, there is a checks and balances system where power is shared by the executive branch, the judicial branch and the legislative branch. To a great degree the legislative branch (the congress) exists to provide oversight of the executive branch. In other ways, congressional power can be quite extensive as visible in a number of famous court cases where such power was challenged and the end result of the court cases resulted not in a lessoning of congressional power, but an affirmation and expansion of it.Examples of famous court cases that involve Congressional power include McCullough vs. Maryland (the constitution grants Congress the ability to carry out the constitution when the function of the national government is concerned); South Carolina vs. Katzenback (the authority of Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act was upheld); Gibbons vs. Ogden (Congress’ powers under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution were upheld); and Mc Grain vs. Doherty (inherent powers defined)Of all its powers, Congress is most notable for the ability to regulate and maintain interstate (and foreign) commerce, write tax law, declare war and fund the military, confirm nominations to the federal court and even impeach the President if he breaks the law (or opt to ignore the fact that he broke the law) While some may wrongfully argue that such powers lead to a long, bureaucratic process that could be much better served it were streamlined by a central authority, the fact that Congress prevents the emergence of a central authority is its greatest asset.That is to say, by not allowing the executive branch to develop overreaching power, the Congress eliminates the President from emerging as a dictatorial figure who is not subject to oversight. If too much power is placed in the hands of any one branch of government, then the ability of the government to overreach and become corrupt is a very real possibility. Congress keeps this syste m of checks and balances in line. The expansion of Congressional power also exists to greatly help the people. For example, South Carolina vs.Katzenback solidified the power of the Voting Rights Act and allowed people to maintain their ability to exercise their right to vote. The control of commerce as defined by McCullough vs. Maryland held businesses accountable and did not give them free reign to do whatever it is they wished at the detriment of society as a whole. Yes, there have been numerous complaints over the years that Congress has overreached its authority and regulated/interfered in business and private lives beyond what is appropriate; but such overreaching has been curtailed in the past when public outcry became loud and virulent.As such, it would be hard to press a case that Congressional Power is abusive or overreaching since Congress does, ultimately, have to be accountable to its constituency every election cycle. Because of this, the ability to exercise power remai ns in check and can not overreach beyond what the population wishes. So, in that regard, congressional power is not unlimited and is subject to the same checks and balances system that the other parts of government are subject.

Alcoholic Authors Essay Example for Free

Alcoholic Authors Essay Essay Topic: American literature , Alcoholism The prominence of alcoholism in American literature, at least in the first half of the twentieth century, and the relationship between great authors and alcoholism has become somewhat of a literary cliche. Icons such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Jack Kerouac are as famous for their work as they are infamous for their drinking habits. These authors have created a legend out of themselves just from their notorious habits of drinking. Of the seven native-born Americans awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, five were alcoholics. The list of other twentieth-century American writers also affected with alcoholism is very long. I researched these authors’ lives to find out how they all were infected with the same disease, alcoholism. Some said that drinking boosted their creative abilities, while others thought of it more of an escape from the confines of their own imagination, to which they were bound for all hours of the day. Drinking does fit the loner lifestyle that many of these authors had. It was viewed as a cure for writers block, an escape from their own minds, and most importantly, as a tool to cure the emotional hardships that they endured. It is not a coincidence that the greatest writers and artists also had very troubled childhoods and adult lives. Look at Edgar Allan Poe and Vincent Van Gogh; both were both severely troubled emotionally and depressed, and yet they still produced artistic and literary genius. So what is this connection between alcoholism and the great authors of the early 19th century? I will take an in-depth look at a few of the most influential alcoholic authors, such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe, and Tennessee Williams. I will look at factors that may have led them to their alcoholic habits, such as their childhood, troubled lives, or depression. From there, I will then look at how alcohol affected their works, positively or negatively. And as we all know, alcoholism was also double-edged sword that led to the destruction of their careers, and ultimately to their deaths. â€Å"I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom. † This quote by Edgar Allan Poe perfectly depicts why many of these great authors fell back into the grasp of alcoholism. Many were troubled spirits who had tough lives, and used alcohol as an escape from their woes. Poe’s depression was caused by his alcoholic father, the death of both of his mothers, the death of his loving wife, the separations of his siblings, and an abusive foster father. No doubt, these losses and hardships sculpted Poe into who he was as a person and author. He relied heavily on alcohol to ease his pain. Another notable case of hardships and emotional struggle that led to alcoholism was Tennessee Williams. As a child he was exposed to a very problematic family. His hard-drinking father favored his brother, as Williams was sensitive and seemed to be homosexual at a very young age. He was closest to his sister Rose, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized. Later on, he had troubles dealing with his sexuality, which led to heavy drug and alcohol abuse. He married Frank Merlo, whom provided balance to his bouts of rage and alcoholic abuse. Williams sunk into even deeper depression after Merlo left him, because of his alcoholism. Williams won the Pullitzer Prize for Drama after writing, A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948. He wrote this largely based off of events from his own life, most vividly portraying his alcoholic habits through Stanley. Another example of a great author whose troubled life had led him to become an alcoholic is Ernest Hemingway. Like Williams, he was also an award-winning author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. During his final years, Hemingway’s behavior was similar to his father’s before he himself committed suicide. Hemingway was diagnosed with the genetic disease Hemochromatosis, which causes mental and physical deterioration. His brother and sister also committed suicide as well. In addition to Hemingway’s mental illnesses, he was an alcoholic for most of his life. After his death, in the writing, â€Å"Ernest Hemingway: A Psychological Autopsy of a Suicide†, Christopher Martin talks about the possible causes of Hemingway’s suicide. He discovers after careful reading of Hemingway’s works, that they reveal the possibility of conditions such as, bipolar disorder, alcoholic dependence, traumatic brain injury, and narcissistic personality traits. Hemingway was obviously troubled mentally and emotionally, and relied heavily on alcohol. Hemingway is one of the most well known alcoholic authors to this day. It was a common trait amongst many of the alcoholic authors to have emotional hardships and struggles. There is no doubt that these authors’ works were affected strongly by their addiction to drinking. As discussed previously, some stated that it boosted creativity, immediately cured writer’s block, and even relaxed them from the pressure of writing. Dr. Donald Goodwin, the author of â€Å"Alcohol and the Writer,† performed research on the correlation between authors and alcoholism. He concluded that writing in itself does not encourage alcoholism. Instead, he suggests that creativity is inspired by insanity because, â€Å"creative writing requires a rich fantasy life. † Alcohol promotes this same fantasy life as it skews one’s perceptions. Goodwin concludes that writing and alcoholism are products of the same lifestyle, rather than writing as a profession encouraging alcoholism. â€Å"Writing involves fantasy; alcohol promotes fantasy. Writing requires self-confidence; alcohol bolsters confidence. Writing is lonely work; alcohol assuages loneliness. Writing demands intense concentration; alcohol relaxes. † For example, William Faulkner, from the very beginning of his career, drank while he wrote. He claimed, â€Å"I usually write at night. I always keep my whiskey within reach. † Faulkner was also a Nobel Prize winner for his novels and short stories. Hemingway found whiskey as a sort of relief from his day to day routines, almost medicinal. Hemingway once stated, â€Å"When you work hard all day with your head and know you must work again the next day what else can change your ideas and make them run on a different plane like whisky? † This sort of mindset was one similar amongst many other great authors alike. In Goodwins book, he has a chapter titled, â€Å"The Loner Theory. † Alcoholism is basically a disease of individualism. People who are affected are those who, from early childhood, have a strong sense of being psychologically alone and on their own in the world. These people feel that they can get emotional release from drinking. We can see this individualistic character in many great authors. Goodwin goes on to compare writing and being drunk. He claims, â€Å"Writing and alcohol both produce trancelike states. A gift for creative writing may involve an innate ability to enter trancelike states. Being a loner, may facilitate trancelike states when it is time to write, and encourage drinking to overcome the shyness and ? isolation when it is time to relax. † This reasoning and logic is clearly evident in many of the author’s lifestyles. As much as these tendencies helped many of them produce creative work, it also led to many of their careers’ demise and eventually, death. The infamous drinking habits of Hemingway, Poe, Faulkner, and the like, all eventually led to their death or career demise. Many of these alcoholic authors were on a slow decline creatively. Many thought that their alcoholism deadened their creative thought process and rather turned them into more drab and emotional writers. Faulkner’s prose was slowed down by his sclerosis, while Hemingway’s style was drowned in emotions. Hemingway ridiculed his friend Fitzgerald when he went public in Esquire, talking about his downfall publicly. Hemingway was disgusted, and invited him to cast his, â€Å"balls into the sea—if you have any balls left†. Many authors attempted to get sober but found they could not write without alcohol. Many would just have one big hit and then decline from there, fighting sobriety and the ability to write without alcohol. Hemingway struggled to find happiness later on in life and eventually committed suicide. Faulkner died of a heart attack that was attributed to his heavy alcohol abuse. Edgar Allan Poe’s death was largely due to alcoholism. It is still a bit of a mystery as to how he died, but according to newspaper articles at the time it was due to cerebral inflammation, which is commonly linked with alcoholism. Many of these great authors were known for their great works as well as their drinking habits. Sadly, alcoholism led to many of their declining health in later ages. Their creative spark was slowly dulled over time by drinking, and many lived unhappy lives. There is an irrefutable link between many authors and alcoholism. Many of them happened to live in the same time frame, and were legends amongst the population largely in part to their drinking habits. Their alcoholic tendencies are all largely due to their loner lifestyles that they all shared. No doubt, they had great artistic minds. Many of them were award-winning authors who are icons American literature. However, their drinking habits are just as famous as was their work. Unfortunately, these habits eventually led many of them to their downfall. Many took their own lives, drank until they passed, or died because of other health complications due to alcoholism. Drinking was a cure for writers block, an escape from their own minds, and also a tool to cure their emotional downfalls that their troubled lives had brought upon them. It is not a coincidence that the greatest writers and artists also had very troubled childhoods and even adult lives. There is a direct connection between the tendencies of â€Å"loners† to be dependant on alcohol, and the tendencies of many authors to be loners. In conclusion, many authors had troubled lives and childhoods that led them to become emotionally scarred. This led to alcoholic habits. Next, many of them enjoyed working and writing while intoxicated. It suited their personalities. Alcoholism is an individualistic disease, and writing is typically an individual art form. Just as these authors found comfort in drinking, many of them drank their lives into the gutter; quite literally in Poe’s case. The same thing that they found comfort in, used as a tool for their writing, led them to demise. Their mental and physical health deteriorated, and ultimately many of them died unhappy. However, these authors were legends in literature. Hemingway, Faulkner, Poe, Fitzgerald, and Williams to name a few, all of these authors graced us with their genius, although some of them paid the price of their genius with mental and physical deterioration due to a life-long love affair with alcohol. Works Cited Dardis, Tom. (1989). The Thirsty Muse: Alcohol and the American Writer. Fields. Goodwin, Donald W. (1988). Alcohol and the Writer. Andrews McMeel Publishing Padgett, John B. (2006, August 17). William Faulkner: Frequently Asked Questions.

The Effect of Literacy and Education of Women on Conditions in the Essay

The Effect of Literacy and Education of Women on Conditions in the Middle East - Essay Example Freedom of choice is the main priority given by education and knowledge. Today, women in the Middle East are limited by their narrow worldview based on domestic values and prejudices (Jaffee 68). â€Å"Thus money is spent on boys, who could eventually pay it back† (Faisal 2003). Education and knowledge would give women great opportunity to choose their life path and become free from other people and events. From the social point of view, knowledge and education give the feeling of personal freedom and mobility. If women lack literary skills and education, democratic rights and freedom of speech and expression cannot make people free, because they cannot understand true meaning of these institutions (Rejwan 45). In modern world, a woman should be free to choose her life path and accept decisions based on this knowledge. To some extent, education embodies personal democracy for Muslim women, acting as a social leveling force, granting more and more people a wide range of personal choices (Moghadam 17). For instance, education would support democracy and lead to absence of physical oppression, result in a sustained outpouring of human creative activity in every form imaginable. The fundamental change would lead to new society based on equal rights and employme nt opportunities, abolition of patriarchy and male dominance in all spheres of life. Education and literacy would change family life and give women opportunities to become free from a father’s or husband’s will. Education and literacy would have a great impact on the society which can be compared with social changes in Europe and America at the end of the 19th century. During this period of time, women received a chance to educate themselves and became a strong political and social force. This tendency led to women rights movement and equal employment opportunities and protection of their family life

What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood Research Paper

What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood and addiction to smoking - Research Paper Example A better understanding of factors associated with adolescent readiness to quit smoking prior to receiving any intervention may provide guidance when tailoring future MI interventions to increase their effectiveness with this population. Proposing of this study was to examine if the majority of adolescents believed that smokers agreed and felt that smoking was addictive and may cause death. All seemed of the opinion that this was for most people who are smoking. When nailing down the optimism viewpoint that adolescents were equally of the opinion that they would not die from smoking. Nonsmokers were of the opinion they would die from smoking. Overwhelming, the adolescents who did not smoke thought that the people who smoked for 30 to 40 years would die from smoking. Most of the people questioned believed they could smoke for a certain number of years and quit. Adolescents agree that smoking was addictive. What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood and addic tion to smoking? 1. Rationale Preventing smoking and to help adolescents quit smoking have been met with limited success. This is a preventable disease. Smoking is the number one cause of death in the United States. The purpose of the study was to show that there remains a great deal of optimism when visiting with adolescences while they filled questionnaires (Apodaca, 2003). Smokers are more optimistic about not dying from smoking behaviors than non-smokers. The hypothesis would state, does motivational interviewing (MI) tailoring future MI interventions to increase their effectiveness with this adolescence population in the role of smoking prevention. In the health care field, nurses are much in demand. Nurses compared to doctors are about four to one. Nurses continue to contribute to critical inpatient care. They are in demand in outpatient care, central to palliative, hospice, home, and long-term institutions (AMA, 2009). The general purpose of nursing is to deliver excellent ca re to each patient through the management of resources and to maintain a professional work environment. The purpose of nursing is also to maintain a professional work environment that ensures the nursing association is competent and has a high satisfaction rate. This plays right into the necessity that nurses will experience diseases from smoking and that smoking prevention plays an important role to adolescence behavior (AMA, 2009). Prevention of illness and promotion of health always have been important to the nursing profession. A recent Gallop Organization reported that Americans rate nurses at the top of that professional list (Gallop, 2009). Florence Nightingale saw as far back as 1859 that nursing consisted of those activities that put the patient in the best condition that nature can act upon that patient. The added goal of today can be to restore the patient's independence. Nurse's work has much to do with immunization, education, environmental safety and disease screening (White, 2010). Our hypothesis is nurses can assist with motivational interviewing (MI) tailoring future MI interventions in to increase their effectiveness with this adolescence population in the role of smoking prevention. Because the nursing organization must already perform five functions, it makes sense that a nurse would help with this provision of excellent adolescent patient care. Nursing also provides the bulk of patient and family education and much of the community health education. Therefore, motivational interviewing (MI) could be the first step in any intervention of the adolescence population in a brief smoking intervention in a hospital setting which adolescents

E-commerce law in European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-commerce law in European Union - Essay Example To quote the report, most retailers "still seem to operate on the assumption that the internal market is partitioned along national lines".1 Doubts over the enforcement of e-commerce laws among the member countries of the European Union have been expressed by stakeholder groups like the European Digital Rights (EDRi). Concerns regarding the future of electronic commerce in the E.U. internal market have arisen because of insufficient surety of legal action by the governments, institutions and private parties. It is said that lack of certainty resulting in legal action may undermine human rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of thought, freedom of creation, the right to education, as well as the rights to privacy and the protection of personal data.2 2 â€Å"EU E-Commerce Law May Undermine Human Rights, Group Says†. IDG News. 11 Nov. 2010. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/210408/eu_ecommerce_law_may_undermine_human_rights_group_says.html The governments, industry groups and E.U. are looking to tighten online privacy to protect user data. As per the Wall Street report, paper work is in processing stage to create â€Å""A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union." The E.U. member states view the protection of personal data a fundamental right while on the other hand the Digital Due Process coalition, an industry group with members such as Google, eBay, Microsoft, AT&T, the ACLU and Americans for Tax Reform have different plans on privacy reforms. They are against any more protections. Conflicting stakes have created the need to define and enforce rules clearly and limit the undue interference of the regulators.3 As per the new strategy paper of the European Commission, â€Å"People should be able to give their informed consent to the processing of their personal data,† the European Commission said Thursday in a new strategy paper. The E.U. has finally decided to

National Regional Approach to Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

National Regional Approach to Innovation - Essay Example It's a very complex thing innovation it doesn't just need an innovative firm to singly do all the work but rather a full innovative firm, and a number of organizations and institutions need to be readily interacting with one another and these should also have many interdependencies to make innovations a success and a complete process. A matrix has been long designed which has been called the innovation matrix in the innovation matrix the key inspiration has been from the traditional manner of the input and output tables but the only different thing is that instead of this matrix making a precise measurement of the flows of intermediate products between countries this matrix makes a It has long been a debate between the theory scholars of innovation that there should be made a systems approach so as to get a better understanding of the dynamics of and that would be more realistic and would provide with more positive ways to make and guide policies than does the linear system of innovation that has long been used. Rosenberg and Kline gave the first initiations towards the systematic approach by putting forth their developed "chain-linked" model this model thus was broadened and deepened and is now what is commonly known as the NIS or the National innovations systems approach. A systematic view is what is presented when the national innovations systems approach is put to use. Various agents, actions and relationships along with interactions with each other on a daily and project based basis are what give rise to innovations. It is a belief of those who follow this system approach that the success of any innovation depends a lot on a long term relationship existing between the various components which would namely be the external organizations and institutions as well and the interaction between innovation organizations. It is also a belief that innovation success would depend on a proper flow of the interaction within the innovation organizations departments, between the colleagues and between the management and the workers, that is also very important. The institutional environment is also believed by the systematic National/ Regional Approach to Innovation 4 National/ Regional Approach to Innovation approach to strongly influence innovative activities and interactions between the innovative agents. REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM

Gobachevs New Foreign Policy and its Consequences Essay

Gobachevs New Foreign Policy and its Consequences - Essay Example Gorbachev’s foreign policy approach was a direct result of domestic concerns. Gorbachev viewed economic and political restructuring as not simply the basis of domestic revitalization, it was essential to sustain the Soviet Union’s position as an international power. Gorbachev described the connection between his domestic and foreign policy programs. â€Å"The success of efforts at internal reform will determine whether or not the Soviet Union will enter the twenty-first century in a manner worthy of a great power.†1 New Soviet government leaders, led by Gorbachev, introduced radical changes to the Soviet system. He initiated perestroika, a series of economic reforms meant to eliminate ineffective administrative structures without fundamentally altering the state-run economy. Politically, Gorbachev introduced glasnost so as to decrease the control of the state and Communist Party interests, the obstacles to economic reform. Political reform was successful but also initiated opposition that ultimately led to Gorbachev’s political demise. New foreign policy thinking was created and implemented to support the pressing needs for economic reform and internal political reforms. These reforms reunited Germany and earned Gorbachev a good deal of popularity throughout the world, more so than in Russia. It also earned him the Nobel Peace prize and an honored position in history. Characteristic of Soviet ideologies from the past, the primary attention of its new leadership was on the domestic issues.

Is Facebook Marketing Effective Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Is Facebook Marketing Effective - Research Paper Example The methodology that I have opted for this research is qualitative methodology, as I will involve the available literature for answering the question of my research that is â€Å"Is Facebook marketing effective?†. Qualitative methodology involves literature review in which, the reviewer can make use of available information to analyze his topic and find answers to questions raised in a study. Literature review is quite beneficial as the student gets a chance to collect useful information pertaining a topic of his own interest and can reuse this information for finding solution to the problems in his study. For this study, literature review is much more suitable. Internet is an attractive medium for different kinds of businesses operative in today’s world. A rapid increase can be seen in e-commerce and internet marketing activities all over the globe. People of all ages show interest in the usage of this network as they can connect with the whole world. Social networking websites can be categorised as the most likable platform for all the users of internet. Among many other social networking websites, Facebook is one. Businesses and e-businesses all over the world give significance to Facebook as a social networking site suitable for advertising purposes. A large number of internet users make use of Facebook for their routine communication with their mates and the interest of businesses and e-businesses in Facebook point towards the fact that market is aware of the importance of Facebook to reach its customers. Marketing or advertising on Facebook is quite essential in today’s scenario when the businesses can find a large number of potential customers there (Arntz, 2009). While using Facebook, we can notice a number of advertisements on the site, which advertise different categories of services and products. We can find banner ads, side bar ads, separate advertising pages, Facebook profiles of companies and so on and all these category of ma rketing comes under the category of eMarketing. According to Liptak (2009), these ads usually take the users of Facebook on their clicking the ad to the descriptive page of the advertisement showing contact description and other important data about the advertised product or service. Not only the ads take the users to the internal pages of Facebook but to other websites keeping descriptive information about company, products and services. E-commerce websites, content based websites and other websites delivering information display various banner ads and side bar ads for the promotion of products and services of companies whether they are online firms or offline firms as these are the most common categories of internet advertising. According to Ducoffe (1996), e-commerce websites can be described as websites that can be seen on internet for international customers, they are designed for broad range of customers and people can access them for the provision of services and products. Th e e-commerce websites provide the ordered or purchased products and services at the homes of consumers. Therefore, it can be said that for e-commerce websites, which are themselves based on internet processing, can make use of internet advertisements for their business promotion. Ducoffe (1996) explains that e-commerce websites have eased the process of shopping. These websites not only bring to light their marketing campaigns on their own websites but also on other websites. Content-based websites also display various categories of internet ads in the form of banner ads and side bar ads. These websites are designed for information deliverance purposes and are able to

Immigration law 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration law 2 - Essay Example Even though war may be seen as one of the simplest and commonest examples of scenarios whereby the lives of people are put at risk, there are actually several other means by which people dwelling in a country may be prone to threats to their lives even in the absence of war2. As a way of ensuring that people who live in their own countries are given enough and maximum protection against all forms of practices that possesses threat to their lives in their immediate environments, the Refugee Convention has been put in place to ensure that there is easy movement of all such people cross borders from their countries of residence to seek protection and shelter where they feel their lives will be better protected. The present essay analysis whether the definition of a refugee under the Refugee Convention is sufficient to protect victims of human rights abuses and subsequently protect the lives of these people. ... In R v SSHD4, a clearer and reflection meaning is given to what well-founded fear means when it was concluded that genuine belief cannot be a basis for one to receive any form of protection as long as fear is unfounded. This means that fear must be objective and founded5 and in case it will be subjective, it must be based on reality.6 The second provision, which is premises, defines circumstances under which well-founded fear must exist before they can be regarded as meriting for refugee status. Generally, the fact that there is a premise means that well-founded fear may exist alright but may not be a tangible reason to merit one to be a refugee7. In the definition, there are five clearly listed premises, which are ‘race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’. Race and nationality generally give a premise of reason, for which a person may suffer acts of persecution, which arises mainly because the fellow is of a race that is different from the race of some other group of people who may be executing the torture, bring about the well-founded fear. Religion also gives its up with instances where there exist forms of controlled and mobilised acts of persecution against an identified religious group for the mere fact that people who are executing persecutions refuse to accept the opinions of the other religious group. Commonly, the aftermath of elections have resulted in situations where people, mostly those in opposition tend to become enemies of those winning power and therefore suffer forms of vendetta and victimisation due to their social and political opinions. In Gomez v SSHD8 we realize that "to qualify as political the

Instructional strategies and approaches Essay Example for Free

Instructional strategies and approaches Essay Introduction Careful monitoring of student learning is an essential component of quality education . It is a strong predictor of student achievement as well as a major differentiating factor between effective schools and teachers from the ineffective ones. Monitoring of student learning refers to the various activities pursued by responsible and competent teachers to keep track of student learning for purposes of making instructional decisions and providing feedback to students on their performance and progress in school. Strategies for Monitoring Students. Students have different learning styles which is why teachers should strive hard to find activities that will suit the needs of their students. One way of monitoring students to ensure learning is by asking them questions about the lesson presented to check if they understand it or not. Questioning is a highly effective strategy to draw students into the learning process from the very beginning of a class session until the end. It stimulates their interest in new subjects, ideas and challenges; and it encourages students to be reflective about their own beliefs, assumptions and comprehension of new topics. Questioning conveys to students what they are to learn, what they are to do, and how they are going to do it. Effective questioning involves planning and practice prior to conducting lessons. Questions, oral recitations and other means of calling upon students to demonstrate their understanding of lessons presented are some of the methods teachers used to find out if their instruction is working and effective or if it needs to be explained further or adjusted in some way to ensure learning of students. Another method of monitoring student learning and progress is by supervising their seat works. This activity involves the teacher to circulate or move around the classroom to check how well or how poorly the students are progressing in the task. This is also an opportunity for her to provide a one-to-one instruction to those who need it. Homework on the other hand can be beneficial, neutral, or detrimental depending upon the nature and the context of the homework tasks. When carefully monitored by the teacher, this activity can increase the student’s learning time, thus, may contribute to an increase in the student’s achievement. Homework also helps students gain a positive attitude towards school, toward the particular subject areas in which homework is assigned and toward the homework itself. Daily, weekly and monthly reviews can at the same time enhance the learning of new material if incorporated with questioning and other learning probes. In this manner, the teacher can identify those areas which needs re-teaching. Classroom testing also bear a positive relationship to later student achievement when administered regularly and frequently. Studies revealed that students who are tested frequently and given feedback immediately are found to have positive attitudes toward tests. They regard tests as a facilitating factor to the learning and studying process. Finally, teachers should frequently review student’s performance data to check on their performance and progress. This is conducted for the purpose of identifying who among the students are at risks, needs remediation or a one-on-one teaching. Effective Monitoring Systems Teachers should, before proceeding to the next lesson, determine first whether the students understood her lessons or not. It is very important that students should practice or perform skills in the right way first before introducing them to another lesson or sub-skill. One of the best and most effective ways of monitoring my students is by asking them questions during class discussions. This is not only to draw their attention towards the lesson presented to them, but to also to stimulate their interest to the next topic that I am about to introduce to them. Questioning accomplishes so many things in my students. First, it reinforces or corrects their understanding towards the subject being discussed to them. It also encourages them to engage in active learning. It provides them new information gained from the questions raised and it gives them an opportunity to clarify some points in the subject being discussed. Foremost, it prepares them to learn and apply new skill to new challenges, and thus, extends their way of thinking about life. Questioning does not only broaden my students’ focus on the topic presented to them but it enables me to identify their preparedness to accept new information. This learned information helps me to modify, restructure or change the lessons that I am about to introduce to them afterwards. I also believe in the importance of supervising my student’s seatwork. I see that this strategy initiates more interaction with my students than just wait for them to call me and ask for help. When necessary, I also give extension for those who need extra time to finish their tasks. This is to allow slow learners to cope with the rest of their classmates. Other than providing personalized or one-on-one instruction, time extensions is also helpful and effective as a means to ensure learning in students. When my students are through with their tasks, I always make sure to have them turned in for checking and grading purposes. Monitoring student’s homework is also a great help to ensure learning in students. To be able to reap its benefits, I always make sure that the homework I gave to them are those that are tied to the subject matter we currently studied in the classroom and are appropriate to their maturity level. I use this type of monitoring system as a means of extending student practice time with the new material presented to them. I also make sure that parents get involve in the process, and that they are aware of what needs to be done so that they themselves encourage their child to do the homework. Turned in homework are always graded, commented on and checked before being handed back to students as this would allow my students to review and correct their mistakes. Finally, to check whether my instructions were fully understood or not, I give my students a test or a short quiz to confirm their grasp of the lesson presented to them and to identify as well possible gaps in their knowledge and understanding of the subject area. This also helps me keep track of my student’s learning for the purposes of making instructional decisions and providing feedback on their performance and progress in school. All these strategies are used to be able to make adjustments in my instructions to ensure learning in my students; to determine if the methods I used in teaching them are effective or not and; to identify as well who among my students are at risks, needs remediation or a one-on-one teaching.

Foundations of Organizational Structure Essay Example for Free

Foundations of Organizational Structure Essay TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 1 General Introduction 1. Ice-breaking session. 2. Self-introduction by tutor and students. 3. Briefing on course requirements. 4. Tutorial expectations and participation. 5. Briefing on Group Report Oral Presentation (requirements and expectations). 6. Team formation for Group Report. (4 members per group) 7. Tutor assigns question and time for oral presentation group report ** Oral presentation and group report submission will starts from Week 3 to 5** **Important note** Students are required to sit for one (1) online test on Week 3. Please make sure that you are registered under this course and be able to access to CEL to take the test. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 2 Topic 1 : Foundations of Organizational Structure Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) The ________ refers to the number of subordinates that a manager directs. A) span of control B) unity of command C) chain of command D) decentralization principle E) leadership web 2) A task that is subdivided into many separate jobs is considered to have ________. A) a high degree of departmentalization B) a low degree of decentralization C) a high degree of work specialization D) a low degree of structure E) a high degree of matrix structuring 3) Aeronautics Inc., a parts supplier, has departments for government aircraft and contracts, large commercial aircraft clients, and small personal aircraft clients. This is an example of ________ departmentalization. A) product B) function C) geography D) customer E) service 4) Stalsberry Company has employees in personnel, sales, and accounting. This division of an organization into groups according to work functions is an example of ________, the second element of structural organization. A) social clustering B) bureaucracy C) specialization D) centralization E) departmentalization 5) The unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom is termed ________. A) chain of command B) authority C) span of control. D) unity of command E) web of authority 6) Which one of the following is consistent with a simple structure? A) high centralization B) high horizontal differentiation C) high employee discretion D) standardization E) bureaucracy 7) Which of the following is a drawback of a narrow span of control? It ________. A) reduces effectiveness B) is more efficient C) encourages overly tight supervision and discourages employee autonomy D) empowers employees E) increases participatory decision-making 8) In an organization that has high centralization, ________. A) the corporate headquarters is located centrally to branch offices B) all top level officials are located within the same geographic area C) action can be taken more quickly to solve problems D) new employees have a great deal of legitimate authority E) top managers make all the decisions and lower level managers merely carry out directions TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 3 Topic 2 : Organizational Culture Part A: Discussion Question 1) Explain the primary methods of maintaining an organizations culture. Once a culture is in place, there are practices within the organization that act to maintain it by giving employees a set of similar experiences. Three forces play a particularly important part in sustaining a culture: selection practices, the actions of top management, and socialization methods. a) First, the explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the  jobs within the organization successfully. It would be naive to ignore that the final decision as to who is hired will be significantly influenced by the decision makers judgment of how well the candidates will fit into the organization. This attempt to ensure a proper match, whether purposely or inadvertently, results in the hiring of people who have values essentially consistent with those of the organization, or at least a good portion of those values. In addition, the selection process provides information to applicants about the organization.   Candidates learn about the organization and, if they perceive a conflict between their values and those of the organization, they can self-select themselves out of the applicant pool. b) In addition to selection, the actions of top management also have a major impact on the organizations culture. Through what they say and how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organization as to whether risk taking is desirable; how much freedom managers should give their employees; what is appropriate dress; what actions will pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions, and other rewards; and the like. c) Finally, no matter how good a job the organization does in recruiting and selection, new employees are not fully indoctrinated in the organizations culture. Because they are unfamiliar with the organizations culture, new employees are potentially likely to disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. The organization will, therefore, want to help new employees adapt to its culture. This adaptation process is called socialization. This is when the organization seeks to mold the outsider into an employee in good standing. Employees who fail to learn the essential or pivotal role behaviors risk being labeled nonconformists or rebels, which often leads to expulsion. But the organization will be socializing every employee, though maybe not as explicitly, throughout his or her entire career in the organization. This further contributes to sustaining the culture. 2) Explain how an institutionalized culture can be a barrier to diversity. Describe how an organization could utilize the three forces at play in sustaining a culture to help create a diverse workforce. By limiting the range of acceptable values and styles, strong cultures put considerable pressure on employees to conform. In some instances, a strong culture that condones prejudice can even undermine formal corporate diversity policies. Strong cultures can also be liabilities when they support institutional bias or become insensitive to people who are different. Hiring new employees who differ from the majority in race, age, gender, disability, or other characteristics creates a paradox: management wants to demonstrate support for the differences these employees bring to the workplace, but newcomers who wish to fit in must accept the organizations core cultural values. Because diverse behaviors and unique strengths are likely to diminish as people attempt to assimilate, strong cultures can become liabilities when they effectively eliminate these advantages. The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully. Taking diversity into consideration at this phase does not have to be antagonistic to the culture. The final decision, because its significantly influenced by the decision makers judgment of how well the candidates will fit into the organization, identifies people whose values are essentially consistent with at least a good portion of the organizations. Looking beyond surface level differences at the selection phase will help create a diverse workforce. Through words and behavior, senior executives establish norms that filter through the organization about, for instance, whether risk taking is desirable, how much freedom managers should give employees, what is appropriate dress, and what actions pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions, and other rewards. Management actions should be inclusive and non-prejudicial to create a diverse and functional culture. During the metamorphosis stage of socialization management should use institutional practices to encourage person–organization fit and high levels of commitment. 3) What are the three stages of socialization through which employees become indoctrinated into an organizations culture? The three stages of socialization are prearrival, encounter, and metamorphosis. a) The prearrival stage recognizes that each individual arrives with a set of values, attitudes, and expectations. These cover both the work to be done and the organization. b) Upon entry into the organization, the new member enters the encounter stage. Here the individual confronts the possible dichotomy between her expectations and reality. c) Finally, the new member must work out any problems discovered during the encounter stage. This may mean going through changes hence, this is called the metamorphosis stage. 4) Discuss the difference between strong and weak organizational cultures and discuss the effect that a strong culture can have on an acquisition or merger. Strong cultures have a greater impact on employee behavior and are more directly related to reduced turnover. In a strong culture, the organizations core values are both intensely held and widely shared. The more members who accept the core values and the greater their commitment to those values is, the stronger the culture is. A strong culture will have a great influence on the behavior of its members because the high degree of sharedness and intensity creates an internal climate of high behavioral control. One specific result of a strong culture should be lower employee turnover. A strong culture demonstrates high agreement among members about what the organization stands for. Such unanimity of purpose builds cohesiveness, loyalty, and organizational commitment. These qualities, in turn, lessen employees propensity to leave the organization. In recent years, cultural compatibility has become the primary concern. All things being equal, whether the acquisition actually works seems to have more to do with how well the two organizations cultures match up. The primary cause of failure is conflicting organizational cultures, when people simply dont match up. Therefore, when considering an acquisition or merger, management would need to carefully evaluate the cultures of each organization. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 4 Topic 3: Foundations of Group Behavior Understanding Work Teams Part A: Discussion Question 1) List and briefly describe the stages in the five-stage model of group  development. The five-stage group development model characterizes groups as proceeding through five distinct stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. a) Forming is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the groups purpose, structure, and leadership. Members are testing the waters to determine what types of behavior are acceptable. b) In the storming stage, members accept the existence of the group, but there is resistance to the constraints that the group imposes on individuality. There is conflict over who will control the group. c) The third stage is one in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness. There is now a strong sense of group identify and camaraderie. This norming stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior. d) The fourth stage is performing. The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand. e) In the adjourning stage, the group prepares for its disbandment. High task performance is no longer the groups top priority. Instead, attention is directed toward wrapping up activities. 2) Design the most effective team to figure out ways to reduce the number of preparation hours for shipping products overseas for your company. Choose the type of team from one of the four principal team types. Describe your teams context, composition, and process parameters. Answers will vary. A problem-solving team is probably the best type of team for this task. In a problem-solving team members share ideas or suggest how work processes and methods can be improved. The problem-solving team will offer ideas to management. Together they discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment. The team will need information on what products are being shipped and how  long each of them takes, as well as details on the current procedures. Adequate information is essential. A firm goal of reducing the hours spent must be established by a leader. The group should be comprised of workers and management with expertise in the shipping department procedures. The team should have five members, three management and two people from shipping and packaging. The process parameters should be clearly outlined, with goals of exactly how much time needs to be shaved off of packaging processes. 3) Explain the difference between groupthink and group shift. Give an example to support your answer. Groupthink is related to norms. It describes situations in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. Groupthink is a disease that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their performance. Group shift indicates that in discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that they hold. In some situations, caution dominates, and there is a conservative shift. More often, however, the evidence indicates that groups tend toward a risky shift. Students answers may vary. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 5 Topic 4: Motivation Concepts Part A: Discussion Questions 1) Compare and contrast a manager that implements Theory Y and one that adheres to the expectancy theory. How would each choose to motivate their employees? Theory Y managers assume that employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play, and therefore the average person can learn to accept, even seek, responsibility. Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. Theory Y managers would contend that ideas such as participative decision making, responsible and challenging jobs, and good group relations are approaches that would maximize an employees job  motivation. A Theory Y manager believes that the employee is inherently motivated as long as the conditions respect his intellect and character. A Theory Y manager would work hard to include the employee in decision making concerning his job, to satisfy work environment preferences, and to make sure the work is stimulating. Expectancy theory proposes that employees will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe it will lead to a good performance appraisal; that a good appraisal will lead to organizational rewards such as bonuses, salary increases, or promotions; and that the rewards will satisfy the employees personal goals. An expectancy theory manager would focus much more on the reward expectations of the employee, versus the psychologic expectations. It would be important for the manager to understand the personal goals that the employee strives to achieve so that he can be appropriately rewarded and praised. 2) Describe Maslows hierarchy of needs including the types of needs and how they become dominant. Maslows hierarchy of needs hypothesized that within every human being there exists a hierarchy of five needs. a) The physiological needs include hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs. b) Safety includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm. c) Social includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship. d) Esteem includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement; and external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention. e) Self-actualization is the drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth, achieving ones potential, and self-fulfillment. As each of these needs becomes substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. So if you want to motivate someone, according to Maslow, you need to understand what level of the hierarchy that person is currently on and focus on satisfying those needs at or above that level 3) According to Two-Factor Theory, how might a manager motivate employees? According to Herzberg, the factors leading to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. Therefore, managers who seek to eliminate factors that can create job dissatisfaction may bring about peace but not necessarily result in motivation. Conditions surrounding the job such as quality of supervision, pay, company policies, physical working conditions, relations with others, and job security were characterized by Herzberg as hygiene factors. When they are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; neither will they be satisfied. If we want to motivate people on their jobs, Herzberg suggested emphasizing factors associated with the work itself or to outcomes directly derived from it, such as promotional opportunities, opportunities for personal growth, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. These are the characteristics that people find intrinsically rewarding. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 6 Topic 5: Motivation: From Concepts to Applications Part A: Discussion Questions 1) List and describe THREE (3) different variable-pay programs. Be sure to include piece-rate plans, profit-sharing plans, and gainsharing. a) Piece-rate plans. In piece-rate pay plans, workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of production completed. When an employee gets no base salary and is paid only for what he or she produces, this is a pure piece-rate plan. b) Merit-based pay. Merit-based pay plans also pay for individual performance. However, unlike piece-rate plans, which pay based on objective output, merit-based pay plans are based on performance appraisal ratings. c) Profit-sharing. Profit-sharing plans are organization-wide programs that distribute compensation based on some established formula designed around a companys profitably. d) Bonuses. Bonuses can be paid exclusively to executives or to all employees. Many companies now routinely reward production employees with bonuses in the thousands of dollars when company profits improve. e) Skill-Based Pay. Skill-based pay (also called competency-based or knowledge-based pay) sets pay levels on the basis of how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do. f) ESOPs. Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are company-established benefit plans in which employees acquire stock, often at below-market prices, as part of their benefits. g) Gainsharing. Gainsharing is a formula-based group incentive plan. Improvements in group productivity determine the total amount of money that is to be allocated. By focusing on productivity gains rather than profits, gainsharing rewards specific behaviors that are less influenced by external factors. Employees in a gainsharing plan can receive incentive awards even when the organization isnt profitable. 2) Compare and contrast the benefits of intrinsic rewards such as recognition and extrinsic rewards such as pay as forms of motivation. Organizations are increasingly recognizing that both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are important. Rewards are intrinsic in the form of employee recognition programs and extrinsic in the form of compensation systems. Intrinsic rewards range from a spontaneous and private thank-you to widely publicized formal programs in which specific types of behavior are encouraged and the procedures for attaining recognition are clearly identified. Pay, an extrinsic reward, is not the primary factor driving job satisfaction, however, it does motivate people, and companies often underestimate its importance in keeping top talent. No matter how much recognition a top performer gets, he will be tempted to leave if the pay scale is much lower than the market and another offer arrives. Recent survey data indicate most employees dont see a strong connection between pay and performance. Variable pay structures, such as bonuses are often the best production motivators. When pay is tied to performance, the employees earnings also recognize contribution rather  than being a form of entitlement. Over time, low performers pay stagnates, while high performers enjoy pay increases commensurate with their contributions. An obvious advantage of intrinsic rewards like recognition programs is that they are inexpensive since praise is free. However, they are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management. When applied to jobs for which performance factors are relatively objective, such as sales, recognition programs are likely to be perceived by employees as fair. However, in most jobs, the criteria for good performance arent self evident, which allows managers to manipulate the system and recognize their favorites. Abuse can undermine the value of recognition programs and demoralize employees. Research suggests financial incentives may be more motivating in the short term, but in the long run intrinsic incentives will retain good employees if the extrinsic incentives are competitive. 3) What is employee involvement and why is it important. Give two examples. Employee involvement is defined as a participative process that uses the entire capacity of employees and is designed to encourage increased commitment to the organizations success. The underlying logic is that by involving workers in those decisions that affect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs. Examples of employee involvement include a) Participative management. Participative management programs use joint decision making. Subordinates actually share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors. b) Representative participation. Representative participation refers to worker representation by a small group of employees who actually participate on the board. The goal is to redistribute power within an organization, putting labor on a more equal footing with the interests of management and stockholders. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 7 Topic 6: What do Managers Do Leadership Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) Which of the following is most likely to be a belief held by a successful manager? A) Technical knowledge is all that is needed for success. B) It is not essential to have sound interpersonal skills. C) Technical skills are necessary, but insufficient alone for success. D) Effectiveness is not impacted by human behavior. E) Technical skills do not influence efficiency. 2) Which of a managers primary functions requires the manager to define an organizations goals, establish an overall strategy for achieving these goals and develop a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities? A) controlling B) planning C) staffing D) coordinating E) leading 3) As a manager, one of Joes duties is to present awards to outstanding employees within his department. Which Mintzberg managerial role is Joe acting in when he does this? A) leadership role B) liaison role C) monitor role D) figurehead role E) spokesperson role 4) Jill is valued by her colleagues for her ability to perform effective break-even analysis on upcoming ventures. In this case, her colleagues value her for competencies that fall within which essential management skills categories? A) technical B) communication C) human D) conceptual E) education 5) Leadership is best defined as ________. A) the ability to influence a group in goal achievement B) keeping order and consistency in the midst of change C) implementing the vision and strategy provided by management D) coordinating and staffing the organization and handling day-to-day problems E) not a relevant variable in modern organizations 6) The two dimensions of leadership behavior identified in the University of Michigan studies are ________. A) coercion and motivation B) emotional and rational C) employee-oriented and production-oriented D) initiating structure and consideration E) initiation and completion Part B: Discussion Questions 1) Describe the three essential management skills that differentiate effective managers from ineffective ones. Provide a workplace example of how these skills could be used when dealing with the challenge of a workplace recession. The three essential management skills identified by researchers are technical, human, and conceptual. Technical skills are defined by the ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise. Human skills are defined by the ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people. Finally, conceptual skills are defined by the ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations. In a time of recession human skills are essential to motivate fearful employees and to create a positive work environment. They would also be necessary in the event of workplace staff reduction. Technical skills could be applied in the area of expertise to raise production and, combined with conceptual skills, can be used to look for small market niches and ways to analyze the industry to continue to make a profit until times are better. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 8 Topic 7: Leadership Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) Hersey and Blanchard developed which of the following? A) situational leadership theory B) cognitive resource theory C) managerial grid model D) path-goal theory E) cognitive orientation model 2) Hersey and Blanchards leadership theory differs from other leadership theories primarily because it ________. A) explores the role of the expectations of the leader for the follower B) focuses on the followers C) holds that leadership style should be dependent on the situation D) is normative E) deals strictly and exclusively with contingencies 3) What is the main principle of path-goal theory? A) Successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership style. B) Stress is a form of situational unfavorableness and a leaders reaction to it depends on his or her intelligence and experience. C) Effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leaders style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. D) Leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their followers because of time pressures. E) The leader is responsible for providing followers with the information, support, or other resources necessary for them to do their jobs. 4) Which of the following is not a key characteristic of a charismatic leader? A) sensitivity to follower needs B) unconventional behavior C) vision and articulation D) task orientation E) willingness to take risks 5) Researchers are conducting a study of a company called Acme Corp, which they believe to be led by a transformational leader. Which of the following, if true, would most support the conclusion that Acmes leader is a transformational leader? A) Acmes top managers often conflict over defining the organization’s goals. B) Acmes goals tend to be very ambitious and to hold personal value for employees. C) Creativity is discouraged among Acme employees. D) Acme managers are cautious and rarely take risks. E) Acmes compensation plans are designed to reward short-term results. 6) Leaders who clarify role and task requirements to accomplish established goals exhibit a _________ style of leadership. A) transformational B) transactional C) charismatic D) self-initiating E) situational 7) Richard is a transactional leader who has just assigned a series of tasks to a project team. Which of the following is most likely to be true about the teams performance under Richards guidance? A) They will set new standards of productivity for the department, exceeding Richards expectations. B) They will meet the goals set for them but are unlikely to go beyond those goals. C) They will tend to be unclear about the roles assigned to each team member. D) They will be highly motivated by what they view as Richards heroic or extraordinary qualities. E) They will tend to put their individual self-interest above the interests of the company. Part B: Discussion Questions 1)Compare and contrast Hersey and Blanchards situational leadership theory with Houses path-goal theory. Hersey and Blanchards situation leadership theory is a contingency theory  that focuses on the followers. Successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership style, which Hersey and Blanchard argue is contingent on the level of the followers readiness. The emphasis on the followers in leadership effectiveness reflects the reality that it is the followers who accept or reject the leaders. The term readiness refers to the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task. SLT says if a follower is unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader needs to give clear and specific directions; if followers are unable and willing, the leader needs to display high task orientation to compensate for the followers lack of ability and high relationship orientation to get the follower to buy into the leaders desires; if followers are able and unwilling, the leader needs to use a supportive and participative style; and if the employee is both abl e and willing, the leader doesnt need to do much. Path-goal theory was developed by Robert House. The essence of the theory is that its the leaders job to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide the necessary direction and/or support to ensure that their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group or organization. The term path-goal is derived from the belief that effective leaders clarify the path to help their followers get from where they are to the  achievement of their work goals and make the journey along the path easier by reducing roadblocks. House identified four leadership behaviors. The directive leader lets followers know what is expected of them, schedules work to be done, and gives specific guidance as to how to accomplish tasks. The supportive leader is friendly and shows concern for the needs of followers. The participative leader consults with followers and uses their suggestions before making a decision. The achievement-oriented leader sets challenging goals and expects followers to perform at their highest level. House assumes that leaders are flexible and that the same leader can display any or all of these behaviors depending on the situation. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 9 Topic 8: Communication Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) Communication serves all of the following functions within a group or organization except ________. A) motivation B) planning C) emotional expression D) control E) conveying information 2) Alejandro is annoyed that the new recruit, Ben, is working faster than anyone else in the group, making the rest of the group look bad. In the company cafeteria Alejandro teases Ben and calls him the super recruit and imitates his style of working so rapidly. Alejandro wants to intimidate Ben so that he will work slower. Which function of communication is Alejandro using by making fun of Ben? A) motivation B) control C) expression D) information E) formal 3) Helena and Laura were talking on the phone. Lauras two year old son fell and started crying and Laura could no longer hear what Helena said. This is an example of ________. A) transmitting B) decoding C) noise D) understanding E) analysis 4) The communication used by managers to provide job instructions is ________ communication. A) downward B) lateral C) formal D) directional E) diagonal Part B: Discussion Questions 1)Describe the communication process. Include the communication process model and explain the eight parts of this model. Before communication can take place, a purpose, expressed as a message to be conveyed, is needed. It passes between a sender and a receiver. The message is encoded (converted to a symbolic form) and passed by way of some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates (decodes) the message initiated by the sender. The result is a transfer of meaning from one person to another. The key parts of the communication process are 1) the sender 2) encoding 3) the message 4) the channel 5) decoding 6) the receiver 7) noise 8) feedback The source initiates a message by encoding a thought. The message is the actual physical product from the source encoding. The channel is the medium through which the message travels. The receiver is the object to whom the message is directed. The symbols must be translated into a form that can be understood by the receiver. This is the decoding. Noise represents communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message. The final link is a feedback loop. 2) Explain how the grapevine functions and why it exists in organizational communication. Describe the general direction of communication and the form of communication most commonly used in the grapevine. What can a manager do to limit the negative effects of the grapevine? The informal communication system is the grapevine. While it is informal it is still an important source of information. A survey found that 75 percent of employees hear about matters first through rumors on the grapevine. The grapevine has three main characteristics. First, it is not controlled by management. Second, most employees perceive it as more believable and reliable than formal communiquà ©s issued by top management. Finally, it is largely used to serve the interests of the people within it. Rumors emerge as a response to situations that are important to us, when there is ambiguity, and under conditions that arouse anxiety. The fact that work situations frequently contain these three elements explains why rumors flourish in organizations. The secrecy and competition that typically prevail in large organizations, encourage and sustain rumors on the grapevine. A rumor will persist either until the wants and expectations creating the uncertainty are fulfilled or the anxiety has been reduced. The grapevine generally follows lateral communication in which persons from the same hierarchical levels begin to relay messages. Very rarely does management participate in the grapevine. In fact, one study reported that management only relayed messages to the grapevine ten percent of the time. Generally oral communication is used to relay grapevine information, although written e-mail can be used as well, but is considered less safe for accountability reasons. Managers can not entirely eliminate rumors. What they should do is minimize the negative consequences of rumors by limiting their range and impact. The best way to reduce the negative consequences of rumors is to: 1) Provide information; 2) Explain actions and decisions that may appear inconsistent, unfair, or secretive; 3) Refrain from shooting the messenger; and 4) Maintain open communication channels. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 10 Topic 9: Conflict Management Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) The traditional view of conflict is the belief that conflict is ________. A) harmful B) natural C) necessary D) situationally-dependent E) neutral 2) Which of the following is not a cause of conflict, according to the traditionalist view? A) general poor communication between people B) lack of openness in the organization C) trust between people in the organization D) management failure to be responsive to employee needs E) management failure to be responsive to employee aspirations 3) The ________ view of conflict argues that conflict is necessary for a group to perform effectively. A) human relations B) interactionist C) traditional D) functional E) reactive 4) ________ conflicts are almost always dysfunctional. A) Task B) Job C) Relationship D) Process E) Functional 5) The first stage of the conflict process is termed ________. A) cognition and personalization B) behavioral manifestation C) potential opposition or incompatibility D) intention E) habituation 6) High job specialization can lead to ________ conflict. A) communication B) structural C) personal-variable D) job-related E) team 7) In which stage are conflict issues defined? A) potential opposition B) cognition and personalization C) intuitions D) behavior E) reaction and transference 8) The conflict-handling intention of collaborating is ________. A) assertive and uncooperative B) assertive and cooperative C) unassertive and uncooperative D) unassertive and cooperative E) affective and reflective 9) Angelina feels that her cubicle neighbor talks too loudly on the phone, but in other ways she is a great neighbor. Angelina gets annoyed every time her neighbors phone rings, but she has decided its simply not worth the trouble to talk to her neighbor. Angelinas conflict intention is called ________. A) competing B) avoiding C) accommodating D) compromising E) collaborating 10) Which of the following is not a conflict-resolution technique? A) creating superordinate goals B) appointing a devils advocate C) avoiding the conflict D) exercising authoritative command E) generating additional resources 11) Stage II of the conflict process deals with conflict being ________. A) perceived and felt B) apparent and experienced C) expressed and perceived D) overt and covert E) internalized 12) Irma does not like a few of the standard operating procedures adapted for the new project. However, she discussed the items with the team and told them that she realized she was in the minority and that she would adapt the new procedures to maintain smooth operations within the team. This type of intention is called ________. A) sacrificing B) accommodating C) collaborating D) compromising E) competing TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 11 Topic 10: Power and Politics Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) Power can be defined as ________. A) the ability to influence the behavior of others B) the actualization of the dependency of others C) congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led D) downward influence on ones followers E) upward influence on ones leaders 2) One reacts to ________ power out of fear of the negative ramifications that might result if one fails to comply. A) legitimate B) coercive C) punitive D) referent E) abusive 3) The power that the College Dean has been granted by the University over the faculty is termed ________ power. A) academic B) positional C) legitimate D) organizational E) balanced 4) Power tactics can be defined as ________. A) the only legitimate sources of power B) techniques for translating power bases into specific action C) strategies for gathering and maintain support D) organizational structural characteristics E) approaches for winning arguments 5) Vivian has not been handling one portion of her duties in a satisfactory manner. As a result, her manager threatens to withhold her promotion. Which power tactic is being used? A) exchange B) ingratiation C) pressure D) personal appeals E) inspirational appeals Part B: Discussion Questions 1) Contrast leadership and power. Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence. Leadership, on the other hand, requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led. A second difference relates to the direction of influence. Leadership focuses on the downward influence on ones followers. It minimizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns. Power does not. Still another difference deals with research emphasis. Leadership research, for the most part, emphasizes style. It seeks answers to such questions as: How supportive should a leader be? How much decision making should be shared with followers? The research on power encompasses a broader area and focus on tactics for gaining compliance. Power can be used by groups as well as by individuals to control other individuals or groups. 2) List and discuss the bases of personal power. Personal power comes from an individuals unique characteristics. Two bases of personal power are expertise, the respect and admiration of others. a) Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge. Expertise has become one of the most powerful sources of influence as the world has become more technologically oriented. b) Referent power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. If I like, respect, and admire you, you can exercise power over me because I want to please you. 3) Distinguish between legitimate political behavior and illegitimate political behavior. Legitimate political behavior refers to normal everyday politics complaining to your supervisor, bypassing the chain of command, forming coalitions, obstructing organizational policies or decisions through inaction or excessive adherence to rules, and developing contacts outside the organization through ones professional activities. On the other hand, there are also illegitimate political behaviors that violate the implied rules of the game. Those who pursue such extreme activities are often described as individuals who play hardball. Illegitimate activities include sabotage, whistleblowing, and symbolic protests such as wearing unorthodox dress or protest buttons, and groups of employees simultaneously calling in sick. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 12 Topic 11: Human Resource Policies and Practices (Human Resource Planning Forecasting, Recruitment) Part A: Discussion Questions 1) Define human resource planning. Describe the TWO (2) components in human resource planning. Human resource planning is the systematic process of matching the internal and external supply of people with job openings anticipated in the organization over a specific period of time. Human resource planning has 2 components: requirements and availability. A requirements forecast involves determining the number, skill, and location of employees the organization will need at future dates in order to meet its goals. The determination of whether the firm will be able to secure employees with the necessary skills, and from what sources, is called an availability forecast. 2) Describe human resource databases and how databases can assist in matching internal employees to positions. A human resource database contains employee information that permits management to make HR decisions. Information that might appear in such databases, includes, but is not limited to, the following: work history and experience, specific skills and knowledge, licenses or certifications held, organizational training completed, educational background, previous performance appraisal evaluations, assessment of strengths and weaknesses, development needs, promotion potential at present, and with further development, current job performance, field of specialization, job preferences, geographic preferences, career goals and aspirations, anticipated retirement date, and personal history, including psychological assessments. Databases are being used by organizations to enable human resources to match people with positions. 3) List TWO (2) methods are available to firms when either a shortage or surplus of workers is forecasted? Firms faced with a shortage of workers may use: 1) 2) 3) 4) innovative recruiting, compensation incentives, and training programs to fill positions. Lowering of employment standards Firms faced with a surplus of workers may use: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) layoffs,  restricted hours,  hiring freezes may be necessary, and  encourage early retirement and  the use of vacation time. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 13 Topic 12: Human Resource Policies and Practices (Selection) Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) Which of the following is the most common method of initial selection? A) written tests B) background check C) performance test D) application form E) work-sample test 2) More than ________ percent of employers conduct some type of background check on potential employees during some point in the hiring process, usually either in the initial phase or the contingent phase. A) 25 B) 50 C) 65 D) 80 E) 95 3) The best way for an employer to find out if a potential employee can do a job is by ________. A) using the interview process B) using a written test C) having them spend a day in the office D) administering an IQ test E) using a performance simulation test 4) Work sample tests are widely used in hiring ________. A) unskilled labor B) skilled workers C) professional workers D) managers E) knowledge workers 5) The results of which of the following tend to have a disproportionate amount of influence on employee selection decisions? A) interviews B) written tests C) performance simulation tests D) work sampling methods E) personality tests 6) The behavioral structured interview is built on the assumption that ________. A) past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior B) technical knowledge and skills are the best predictor of job performance C) personality is the best predictor of job performance D) personality and mood are highly correlated E) technical knowledge and mood are highly correlated Part B: TRUE /FALSE Questions 1) As a selection device, written tests have decreased in usage during the past 20 years. (TRUE /FALSE) 2) A test that measures factors such as dependability, carefulness, responsibility, and honesty is referred to as a performance factor test. (TRUE /FALSE) 3) Work samples yield validities almost consistently superior to written aptitude tests. (TRUE /FALSE) 4) In assessment centers, job candidates are evaluated as they go through several days of exercises that simulate real problems they would confront on the job. (TRUE /FALSE) TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN COLLEGE ABDM2083 ORGANIZATION HUMAN RESOURCE TUTORIAL 14 Topic 13 14: Human Resource Policies and Practices (Performance Evaluation) Part A: Multiple Choice Questions 1) Performance evaluations today are generally based on which three types of behavior? A) task performance, productivity, tenure B) productivity, efficiency, absenteeism C) task performance, citizenship, counterproductivity D) citizenship, counterproductivity, personality E) leadership, training, efficiency 2) Performance evaluations are used as a mechanism for all of the following except ________. A) monitoring the success of marketing strategies B) determining promotions C) pinpointing employees skills D) identifying training and development needs E) providing feedback to employees 3) Which of the following is not a weakness of the 360-degree evaluation system? A) artificially inflated feedback from peers B) insufficient training for performance evaluators C) discrepancies between evaluating groups D) provides a wide performance perspective E) difficulties in reconciling differing evaluations 4) Performance evaluations are used to ________. A) improve group cohesiveness B) define departmental structure C) help management make HR decisions D) identify how jobs are completed E) decrease conformity within organizations 5) Which of the following is the least predictive set of criteria used to evaluate employees? A) traits B) task outcomes C) behaviors D) personality E) mood Part B: Discussion Questions 1) What are the three most popular sets of criteria for evaluating employee performance? The three most popular sets of criteria for evaluating employee performance are individual task outcomes, behaviors, and traits. a) If ends count, rather than means, then management should evaluate an employees task outcomes. In many cases, its difficult to identify specific outcomes that can be directly attributable to an employees actions. b) Its not unusual for management to evaluate the employees behavior. c) The weakest set of criteria, yet one that is widely used by organizations is individual traits. They are weaker because they are farthest removed from the actual performance of the job itself. 2) Who should perform employee evaluations? With many of todays organizations using self-managed teams, telecommuting, and other organizing devices that distance bosses from their employees, an employees immediate superior may not be the most reliable judge of that employees performance. Thus, in more and more cases, peers and even subordinates are being asked to participate in the performance evaluation process. Also, increasingly, employees are participating in their own performance evaluation. In most situations, in fact, it is highly advisable to use multiple sources of ratings. Any individual performance rating may say as much about the rater as about the person being evaluated. By averaging across raters, we can obtain a more reliable, unbiased, and accurate performance evaluation.

Drugs Affecting the Central Nervous System (CNS)

Drugs Affecting the Central Nervous System (CNS) Drugs acting in CNS were among the first to be discovered by primitive humans and are still the most widely used group of pharmacologic agents. In addition to their use in therapy, many drugs acting on the CNS are used without prescription to increase ones sense of well being. The mechanism by which various drugs act in the CNS have not been clearly understood. In last three decades, however, dramatic advances have been made in the methodology of CNS pharmacology. It is now possible to study the action of a drug on individual cells and even single ion channels with synapses. The information obtained from such studies is on the basis for several major developments in studies of the CNS. These are the classification of CNS acting drugs. In addition to many medical uses, drugs acting on the cns are using worldwide i.e. alcohol, nicotine, caffeine with various degrees of societal controls due to production of addiction or dysfunctional behaviours. We know that CNS acting agents mainly exert their effects by modulation of synaptic transmission of information between neurons. These actions alter the electrical exciteability of nerve cells by changing the movement of chemical ions across  nerve and neuron cell membrane. In general, these drugs ct on a receptor to directly or indirectly open or close ion channels in the cell membrane and thus make the nerve cell more exciteable with regard to its ability to send information. ION CHANNELS: The membrane of nerve cells contain two types of channels defined on the basis of the mechanism controlling their gating: voltage-gated and ligand-gated channels.Voltage gated channels see Table-1 are respond to changes in the membrane potential of the cell.In nerve cells, these channels are concentrated on the initial segment and the axon and are responsible for the fast action potential,which transmitthe signal from cell body to nerve terminal. There are many types of voltage-sensitive calcium and potassium channels on the cell body, dendrites and initial segment, which act on a much slower time scale and modulate the rate at which the neuron discharge. CHANNEL TYPE MODE OF TOXIN ACTION:  Tetrodotoxin VOLTAGE-GATED:  Blocks channel from outside MODE OF TOXIN ACTION:  Betrachotoxin VOLTAGE-GATED:  Slows inactivation MODE OF TOXIN ACTION:  Apamin VOLTAGE-GATED:  Blocks small Ca-activated K-channels MODE OF TOXIN ACTION:  Agatoxin VOLTAGE-GATED:  Blocks p-type channels MODE OF TOXIN ACTION:  Omega-conotoxin VOLTAGE-GATED:  Blocks n-type channels MODE OF TOXIN ACTION:  Charybdotoxin VOLTAGE-GATED:  Blocks big Ca-activated K-channels IDENTIFICATION OF CENTRAL NEUROTRANSMITTER: Because drug selectivity is based on the fact that different pathways use different transmitters, a primary goal of neuropharmacologists is to identify the transmitter in CNS pathways. Establishing that a chemical substance is a transmitter has been far more difficult for central synapses than for peripheral synapses. The following criteria have been established for transmitter identification: LOCALIZATION: Approaches prove that a suspected transmitter resides in the presynaptic terminal of the pathway uder study include biochemical analysis of regional concentrations of suspected transmitters and immunocutochemical techniques for enzymes and peptides. RELEASE: To determine whether the substance is released from a particular region, local collection of the extracellular fluid can sometimes be accomplished. In addition, slices of brain tissue can be electically or chemically stimulated in vitro and the released substances measured. To determine whether release is relevant to synaptic transmission, it is important to establish that the release is calcium-dependent. SYNAPTIC MIMICRY: Finally, application of the suspected substance should produce a response that mimics the action of the transmitter released by nerve stimulation. Furthermore, application of the selective antagonist should block the response. The excitatory neurotransmitter released from these cells is in most instances. The information is typically phasic and bursts of action potential. Microionophoresis, which permits highly localized drug administration, has been a valuable technique in assessing the action of suspected transmitter. Because of the complexity of the CNS, specific pharmacologic antagonism of a synaptic response provides a particular powerful technique for transmitter identification. DRUG CONCENTRATION AND INTESITY OF ITS EFFECTS: Intensity of pharmacological effect is given as, Intensity of effect= DRUGS ACTING UPON CNS: CAFFEINE: Caffeine and the chemically related xanthenes, theophylline and theobromine Decreases in the order given in their stimulatory action.They are over-the-counter drugs, used to block adenosine receptor as an antagonist. AMPHETAMINE: The stimulation caused by excessive release of norepinephrine from storage sites in the peripheral nervous system. It is not known whether the same action occurs in the CNS. Two other theories regarding for their action are that they are degraded slower than epinephrine or that they could act on serotonin receptor sites. NARCOTICS: Narcotic agents are potent and effective for the relief of severe pain. Analgesics are selective cns drug to reduce pain.Long term administration produces tolerance, pstchic and physical dependence. CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEPRESSANTS AND STIMULANTS: CNS DEPRESSANTS: CNS depressants slows down normal brain functions. In higher doses, some CNS depressants can become general anesthetics. Tranquilizers and sedatives are example of CNS depressants. CNS depressants are based on two groups such as: CNS STIMULANTS: Stimulants increase alertness, attention and energy which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure rate and respiration. Stimulants were used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems, obesity, neurological disorder and a variety of other ailments. As their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent to wane. Now, stimulants are prescribed for treating only a few health conditions, include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression that has not responded to other treatment. It is also used for short-term treatment of obesity and for patients of asthma. INTODUCTION TO SEDATIVE-HYPNOTIC: Interms of drugs, sedative refers to a substance that moderates the activity and excitement while inducing a calming effect, while hypnotic effect refers to a substance that causes drowsiness and facilitates the onset and maintenance of natural sleep. The term anxiolytic is sometimes applied to a sedative-hypnotic; however, be aware that many drugs especially the selective serotonin secretion reuptake inhibitors are useful as a chronic anxiolytic dug demonstrated by their efficacy in certain psychiatric disordres like generalized anxiety disorder. THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF SEDATIVE-HYPNOTICS: SEDATION: All drugs in this class produce sedation,, with relief of anxiety. Benzodiazepenes also exert anterograde amnesic effects (i.e the inhability to remember events occuring during the drug action ) at sedative doses. The amnesic action is a primary reason some benzodiazepenes ( i.e., midozam ) are commonly used for short duration invasive procedures. They donot provide pain relief however, and must be used in conjunction with analgesics. HYPNOSIS: Sedative-hypnotics promote sleep onset and increase the duration of sleep. All of the sedative-hypnotics will induce sleep if given in high enough dose. Rapid eye movement ( REM ) sleep stages are usually decreased at high doses. REM rebound can be detected following termination of sedative-hypnotics. ANESTHESIA: At high doses, sedative- hypnotic produce a loss of consciousness with amnesia at high level and a suppression of reflexes. Anesthsia can be produced by most barbiturates and some benzodiazepene, which is generally used frequently as a induction agent for general anesthesia. Only three, diazepam, midazolam and lorazepam are formulated I.V. ANTI-CONVULSANT AGENT: Most barbiturates and some benzodiazepene suppress seizures activity at high dose. However, often this occur along with marked sedation. Selective have anti-convulsant activity and can decrease the spread of epileptiform activity without CNS depression. Some are administered intravenously to treat status epilacticus. MUSCLE RELAXATION: Most sedative-hypnotics causes muscle relaxation at high doses. Diazepam is effective at sedative doses and is useful for treating specific spasticity state including cerebral palsy. TOLERANCE AND DEPENDENCE: TOLERANCE: Decreased responsiveness to a drug following repeated exposure commonly occurs with the continuous use of sedative-hypnotics. The mechanism of action of sedative-hypnotics are not well known. DEPENDENCE: Psychologicaaly dependence usually occurs wit h most of the sedative-hypnotics with leads to the compulsive use of these agents to reduce anxiety. Physical dependence is the development of withdrawal syndrome occurs when the drugs are discontinued. Withdrawal syndrome includes, tremors, hyper reflexia, and seizures. These symptoms occur most commonly with shorter acting drugs. EFECTS ON CNS WITH INCREASING DOSAGE: Calmness or drowsiness (sedation) Sleep (pharmacological hypnosis) Unconsciousness Coma Surgical anesthesia Fatal respiratory/ cardiac depression INTRODUCTION TO ANALGESICS: An analgesic also known as a painkiller is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain. Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous system they include paracetamol and acetylaminophetol also known in the us as acetaaminophen, the NSAIDs such as the acetyl salicylic acid and opiods drugs such as morphine and opium. They are distinct from anesthesia who reversibly eliminate sensation. In choosing analgesics, the severity and response to the medication determines the pain ladder is originally developed in cancer-related pain is widely applied to find suitable drugs in a step wise manner. The choice is also determined by the type of pain, for neuropathic pain, traditional analgesics are less effective and there is often benefit from classes of drugs that are normally not considred analgesics such as tricyclic anti-depressants and anti-convulsants. WHAT IS PAIN ? Pain is physiological process that can be classified interms of its intensity ( mold, moderate, severe) its duration (acute, convulascent, chronic) its mechaism ( neurologic, nociceptive, physiologic) and its clinical context ( post surgical, malignancy) pain detection or nocicepter requires activation of specialized transducers called nociceptor, see Table-2, which are activating following thermal, mechanical or chemical tissue injury and initiate different transmission of action potential to the dorsal horn of spinal cord. Category:  Physiological Cause:  Brief exposure to a noxious stimulus Symptoms:  Rapid, yet brief pain perception Example:  Touching a pin or hot object Category:  Nociceptive Cause:  Somatic or visceral tissue injury with medication impacting on intact nervous system Symptoms:  Moderate to severe pain, described as crushing, stabbing, usually worsen after the first 24 hours Example:  Surgical pain, traumatic pain, sickel cell crisis Category:  Neuropathic Cause:  Damage of dysfunctional of peripheral nerves or CNS Symptoms:  Severe lancinating, burning or electrical shock like pain Example:  Neuropathy, chronic regional pain syndrome, postherpetic neuralgia Category:  Mixed Cause:  Combined somatic and nervous tissue injury Symptoms:  Combination of symptoms, soft tissue pain and radicular pain Example:  Low back pain, back surgery pain Analgesics are a class of drugs used to relief pain. The pain relief by analgesics occurs either by blocking pain signals or by interfering with the brain interpretation of the signalwithout producing anesthesia or loss of consciousness. There are basically two kinds of analgesics: KINDS OF ANALGESICS: It should be noted that some reference include aspirin and other non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the class of analgesics because they have some analgesic properties. Aspirin and NSAIDs primarily have an anti-inflammatory affect, as opposed to being solely analgesic. NON-NARCOTIC ANALGESICS: Acetaminophen is the most commonly used over-the-counter, non-narcotic analgesic. Acetaminophen is a popular pain reliver because it is both effective for mild and moderate relief of pain and relatively inexpensive. It must be emphasized though that the safety of acetoaminophen is tied to proper use of the drug (use according to specific prescribed instructions). If acetoaminophen is not used according to the directions on the label, serious side effects and possible fatal consequences can occur. For example, taking more than 4000 mg/day or using it long term can increase the risk of liver damage. The risk of liver damage also increased by ingesting alcohol. Many people donot realize that acetoaminophen is found in more than 600 OTC. It can be found in combination with other active ingredients in many cold, sinus and cough medications. The commulative effect of acetaminophen must be considered if you are taking multiple drugs which contain acetaminophen. NARCOTIC ANALGESICS: There are two types of narcotic analgesics: The opiates (found in alkaloid, opium) The opioids (derivatives of opiates) Opiods are any medication which binds to opioid receptors in the CNS or gastrointestinal tract. There are four broad classes of opioids: Endogenous oopioids peptides (produced in the body: endorphins, dynorphins, enkephalins) Opium alkaloids (morphine, codeine, theibaine) Semi-synthetic opiods ( heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, hydromorphone, oxymorphone) Fully synthetic opioids (pethidine, methadone, fentanyl, propoxyphene, buprenorphine) Opioids are used in medicine as strong analgesics, for relief of severe or chronic pain. There is no upper limit for the dosage of opioids used to achieve pain relief, but the dose must be increased gradually to allow for the development of tolerance to adverse effects ( for eg. Respiratory depression). According to emedicine: some people with intense pain get such high doses would be fatal if taken by someone who was not suffering from pain. PHARMACOLOGY OF SYSTEMIC ANALGESICS: Systemic administration of analgesic drugs is still the most widely used method for providing pain relief in acute painful situations. Opioids may be selected on the basis of their physicochemical characteristics and their diffusion index to the brain. But in clinical practice, their very steep concentration-analgesic effect relationship remains a critical aspect of opioid therapy. Thus, small fluctuations in plasma concentrations of opioids may lead to profound fluctuations in analgesic effect when their plasma and effect-site concentrations are near the minimum effective analgesic concentration (MEAC). Combining drugs acting on different mechanisms of nociceptive modulation offers benefits from additive/synergistic effects and will decrease the incidence of their adverse effects. Evidence-based reviews showed that effective pain relief using non-opioid analgesics relied on paracetamol supplemented with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The role of COX-2 selective inhi bitors (CSIs) in acute pain relief still requires further evaluation. NSAIDs, CSIs and paracetamol share the property of morphine sparing in situations of severe (post-operative) pain. CSIs may be beneficial in patients in whom post-operative bleeding is a major surgical risk as the effects of NSAIDs on coagulation may last for days. Finally, low-dose ketamine infusions remain a worthwhile addition to opioid therapy. Analgesic concentrations of ketamine are 1/5th to 1/10th the anaesthetic concentration and exert significant inhibition on N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation. There have been debates over the additine potential of opioids vs. the benefits of their analgesic properties for treating non-malignant chronic pain such as chronic arthritis. Some experts believe opioiods can be taken for years without addiction or toxic side effects. The enhanced quality of life which opioids may provide the patient must considered. Common SIDE EFFECTS and ADVERSE REACTION: Nausea Vomiting Drowsiness Dry mouth Miosis (contraction of pupil) Urinary retention Constipation or fecal impaction Orthostatic hypotension Less common SIDE EFFECTS and ADVERSE REACTION: Confusion Hallucinaation Hives Itch Bradycardia Hypothermia Raised intracranial pressure Tachycardia Flushing Muscle rigidity Most severe SIDE EFFECTS and ADVERSE REACTION: Respiratory depression Fatal overdose INTRODUCTION TO ANTI-SEIZURES: After stroke, epilepsy is the second common disorder of CNS affecting about 1% of the population worldwide. Most (80%+) cases can be well controlled with anti-seizures drugs. However, that leaves many characterized by periods of abnormal firing of CNS neurons and can be caused by many neurological conditions (i.e. tumors, injury, infection). In some cases, there is also agenetic predisposition to epilepsy. Anti-seizures medication were originally designed to help people who have epilepsy, but the nerve-calming quality of some of these drugs can also help quiet the burning, stabbing or shooting pain often caused by nerve damage. Nerve damage (neuropathy) can be caused by many factors, including: DIABETES: High blood sugar levels, common in diabetes, can damage the nerves throughout the body, but the first symptomatically is numbnessand pain in the hands and feet. SHINGLES: Anyone who has had chicken pox is at risk of shingles a rash of blisters that can be painful or itchy. A condition called postherpetic neuralgia occurs if shingles pain persists after the rash disappears. Because the risk of shingles increases with age, evryone everyone everyone age 60 or older should receive the zoster vaccine which can help prevent this painful condition. CHEMOTHERAPY: Some chemotherapy drugs can damage nerves causing pain and numbness that typically begins in the tip of toes and fingers. HERNIATED DISK: Nerve damage can occur if a herniated in your spine squeezes a nerve passing through your vertebrae too tightly. INHERITED NEUROPATHIES: Some neuropathies are passed on genetically and affects different nerves, depending upon the type of disorder. The most common hereditary neuropathy is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which affects motor and sensory nerves. MECHANISMS OF ANTI-SEIZURE DRUGS: Exact mechanism of anti-seizues drugs are not well understood but tese medications appear to interfere with the over react transmission of pain signals sent from damaged nerves. Some anti-seizures work particularly well for certain conditions. Carbamazepine is prescribed for trigeminal neurolgia, a condition that causes facial painn appears as electrical shocks. It is important note that FDA has issued a warning that all anti-seizures associated with a slight increased risk of suicidal thoughts or actions. Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing feeling of depression or suicidal thoughts. GABAPENTIN: Used with other epilepsy drugs to treat partial and some generalized seizures. Few lasting side effects. During the first week of treatment, a person may experience tiredness and dizziness. PHENYTOIN: Controls partial seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Also can be given by intravenously in the hospital to rapid control active seizures. Side effects include dizziness, fatigue, acne, slurred speech, rash, and increase hair. Over the long term the drug can cause bone thinning. VALPROIC ACID: Used to treat partial, absence and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tremor, hair loss, reduced attention, depression in adults, irritability in children, a decrease in thinking speed. Over the long term, the drug can cause bone thinning, swelling of the ankles, liver damage, decreased platelets. INTRODUCTION TO ANTI-PSYCHOTICS: A person who is psychic out of touch with the reality. People with psychosis may hear voices or have strange and illogical ideas for eg, thinking that others can hear their thought or are trying to harm them or they are president o f us or some famous person. They may get excited or angry with no apparent reason, or spend lots of time by themselves or in bed, sleeping during the day and awake at night. The person may neglect appearance, not bathing or changing clothes, hard to talk to- barely talking or saying things that make non-sense. They often are initially unaware that their condition is an illness. These kinds of behavior are symptoms of a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia. Anti-psychotic drugs reduces these symptoms. These medications cannot cure the disease but they can take away many of the symptoms or make them mild. In some cases, they can shorten the course of episode of illness well. There are number of anti-psychotic medications available. These medications affect the neurotransmitter that allow communication between nerve cells. One such neurotransmitter, dopamine, is thought to be relevant to schizophrenia symptoms. All thes e medications have some effect for schizophrenia. The main differences are in their potency that is the dosage prescribed to produce therapeutic effect. Some people may think that thehigher doses of medication prescribed the more serious the illness but this is not always true. The 1990s saw the development of several new drugs for schizophrenia called atypical antipsychotics because they have fewer side effects than the older drugs, today they are often called and used as afirst line of treatment. The first atypical antipsychotic drug was introduces in 1990. In clinical trials, these medications were found to be more effective than conventional or typical Antipsychotic drugs in individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, that is not responded to other drugs and the risk of tardive dyskinesia ( a movement disorder was lower). However because of the potential side effects of serious blood disorder -agranulocytosis, white blood cells loss that fight infection. Patient who are on clozapine must have a blood test on every 1 or 2 weeks. The inconvenience and cost of blood tests and the medication itself have made maintenance for adults for many people. Several other atypical antipsychotics have been developed since clozapine was introduced. INDICATIONS OF ANTI-PSYCHOTIC DRUGS: Common conditions with which antipsychotics might be used include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and delusional disorder. Antipsychotics might also be used to counter psychosis associated with a wide range of other diagnoses, such as psychotic depression. However, not all symptoms require heavy medication and hallucinations and delusions should only be treated if they distress the patient or produce dangerous behaviors. For non-psychotic disorders: In addition, antipsychotics are increasingly used to treat non-psychotic disorders. For example, they are sometimes used off-label to manage aspects of Tourette syndrome or autism spectrum disorders. They have multiple off-label uses as an augmentation agent (i.e. in addition to another medication), for example in treatment-resistant depression essive, anti-impulsive, anti-suicidal and hypnotic (sleep) medications. Antipsychotics have also been increasingly used off-label in cases of dementia in older people, and for various disorders and difficulties in children and teenagers. A survey of children with pervasive developmental disorder found that 16.5% were taking an antipsychotic drug, most commonly to alleviate mood and behavioral disturbances characterized by irritability, aggression, and agitation. Recently, risperidone was approved by the US FDA for the treatment of irritability in children and adolescents with autism. Antipsychotics are sometimes used as part of compulsory treatment via inpatient (hospital) commitment or outpatient commitment. This may involve various methods to persuade a person to take the medication, or actual physical force. Administration may rely on an injectable form of the drug rather than tablets. The injection may be of a long-lasting type known as a depot injection, usually applied at the top of the buttocks. Those that are available in injectable form are haloperidol, olanzapine, and ziprasidone while those available as depot are haloperidol, flupenthixol, clopenthixol, and risperidone. Antipsychotics are among the biggest selling and most profitable of all drugs, generating $22 billion in global sales in 2008. By 2003 in the US, an estimated 3.21 million patients received antipsychotics, worth an estimated $2.82 billion. Over 2/3 of prescriptions were for the newer more expensive atypicals, each costing on average $164 compared to $40 for the older types. By 2008, sales in the US reached $14.6 billion, the biggest selling drugs in the US by therapeutic class. The number of prescriptions for children and adolescents doubled to 4.4 million between 2003 and 2006, in part because of increases in diagnoses of bipolar disorder. Due to the chronic nature of the treated disorders, antipsychotic medications, once started, are seldom discontinued, and the aim of the treatment is often to gradually reduce dosage to a minimum safe maintenance dose that is enough to control the symptoms. Only when the side-effects have become too severe and/or a patient have been symptom-free for a long periods of discontinuation carefully attempted. MULTIPLE MEDICATIONS: Antipsychotic medications can produce unwanted effects when taken with other medications therefore, doctor should be told about all the medications being taken including over -the-counter medications and vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements and the extent of alcohol use. Some antipsychotic interfere with anti-hypertensive drugs (taking for high blood pressure), anticonvulsants (taken for epilepsy) and medicine used for parkinsons disease. Other anti-psychotic add to the effect of a alcohol and other CNS depressants such as anti-histamines, barbiturates, anti-depressants, some sleeping and pain medications and narcotics. OTHER EFFECTS: Long term treatment of schizophrenia with one of the older, or, conventional antipsychotics may cause to develop tardiye dyskinesia. Tardiye dyskinesia is a condition characterized by involuntary movements, most often around the mouth. It may range from mild to severe. In some people, it cannot be reversed, while others recoverd partially or completely. Tardiye dyskinesia is sometimes in people with schizophrenia who have never been treated with an antipsychotic medications is called spontaneous dyskinesia however, it is most often seen after long term treatment with older antipsychotic medications. The risk has been reduced with newer atypical medications. There is a higher incidence in women, and the risk increases with the age. The possible risks of long-term treatment with with an anti-psychotic medications must be weighed against the benefit in each case. The risk of TD is 5% per year with older medications. It is less with newer medications. PSYCHOTIC DISORDER CAUSES: Functional causes of psychosis include the following: Drug abuse amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholismalcohol among others. Brain damage Schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, brief psychotic disorder Bipolar disorder (manic depression) Severe clinical depression Severe psychosocial stress Sleep deprivation. Some traumatic events. DOSAGES AND SIDE EFFECTS: Some medications are very potent and prescribed in low doses, others are not as potent and higher doses are prescribed. Most side effects of antipsychotic drugs are mild. Many common ones lessens or disappear after the first week of treatment. these includes drowsiness, rapid heart beat and dizziness when posture changes. Some people may gain weight while taking medications and need to pay extra attention to diet or exercise to control their weight. All anti-psychotic drugs tend to block D2- receptors in the dopamine pathways of the brain. This means that dopamine released in these pathways has less effect. Excess release of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway has been linked to psychotic experiences. It is the blockade of dopamine receptors in the pathway that is thought to control psychotic experience. Typical antipsychotic are not particularly selective and also block dopamine receptors in the mesolimbic pathway, tuberoinfundibular pathway and the nigrostriatal pathway. Blocking D2- receptor s in these pathway is thought to produce some of the unwanted effects which typical antipsychotics produce. LITHIUM, MOOD STABILIZING DRUGS, AND OTHER TREATMENT FOR BIPOLAR DISORDER: Bipolar disorder once known as manic-depressive illness, was conceived of as a psychotic disorder distinct from schizophrenia at the end of the 19th century. Before that both of these disorders were considered part of a continuum. It is ironic that the weight of the evidence today is that there is profound overlap in these disorders. This is not to say that there are no pathophysiology important difference or that some drugs treatment are differentially effective in these disorders. According to DSM, they are separate disease entities while research continues to define the dimensions of these illnesses and their genetic and other biological markers. TYPES OF BIPOLAR DISORDER There are several types of bipolar disorder. Each type is identified by the pattern of episodes of mania and depression. The treatment that is best for you may differ depending on the type of bipolar disorder you have. Your doctor will look carefully to determine where your symptoms fit. Bipolar I Disorder (mania and depression) Bipolar I disorder is the classic form of the illness, as well as the most severe type of bipolar disorder. It is characterized by at least one manic episode or mixed episode. The vast majority o